Phillies Breakout the Big Bats; Down the Mets 10-7 After Blowing Big Lead

After last night’s downer of loss, which featured the complete shellacking of Cole Hamels by the Mets, the Phillies looked to put last night behind them. Well it wasn’t pretty but the Phillies got the job done. Heavy B, Joe Blanton the fifth starter, got the nod for the Phillies. Look at it this way: if you were expecting a pitchers duel, you thought wrong. One starter never got out of the second, the other was pulled after recording the first out in fourth.

It started out good for the first four innings for the Phillies. They knocked Mets Ace, Mike Pelfrey around the diamond and out of the game in the second inning. Pelfrey lasting only 2+ innings compared to Hamels’ 2.2 IP last night. The line on Pelfrey: 2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, (6 R), 1 BB, 1 K. The Phillies got to Pelfrey early and often. Ryan Howard blasted his second home run of the year off of Pelfrey, which capped a 4 run third inning by the Phils offense, which sent Pelfrey to the showers early.

Phillies starter, Joe Blanton was on cruise control until the fifth inning, when the wheels came off. Blanton could not get out of the fifth, going only 4.1 IP. The Mets later tied the game later in the inning when Antonio Bastardo, who relieved Blanton surrendered a single to Daniel Murphy, which scored a runner inherited from Blanton. That inherited runner scoring would mark the end of the line on Blanton’s night altogether. The line on Blanton: 4.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. At that point the Phillies had blown a 7 run lead.

It wasn’t looking real good at this point, but the Phillies “sleeping dragon” of an offense awoke with a roar in the bottom half of the fifth inning. With a monstrous two-run home run from Ben Francisco off of Mets reliever Blaine Boyer, gave the Fightin’ Phils the lead for good. In the bottom of the sixth, the Phillies tacked on an insurance run and never looked back. The bullpen, was lights out, surrendering two measly hits, while striking out four. Ad hoc closer, Jose Contreras, shut the door in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.

Final thoughts: I guess, the term “Runs At A Premium” doesn’t apply here. If you were either starter, it wasn’t exactly a start to write home about. Both teams surrendering double digit hit totals. It was an ugly, ugly, UGLY win… but a win is a win for the Fightin’ Phils and I will take it. Tomorrow is a Halladay.